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For the first half, Activision Blizzard’s revenues were €1,857 million, a 9.0% increase (+14.2% at constant currency) compared to the first half of 2010. EBITA reached €833 million, a 34.4% increase (+40.1% at constant currency). These results benefited from the accounting principles requiring that revenues and related cost of sales associated with games with an online component be deferred over the estimated customer service period. The balance of the deferred operating margin was €378 million as of June 30, 2011, compared to €318 million as of June 30, 2010.

This performance was driven by record digital sales of Activision Blizzard’s online-enabled franchises, which increased by more than 20% in the first half, driving record operating margin.

Looking to the balance of the year, Activision Blizzard has numerous releases and its audiences will be especially excited by three key properties: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3™, the new online service Call of Duty Elite and Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure™. As of August 3, 2011, pre-orders for Modern Warfare 3 (launch expected on November 8, 2011) have significantly exceeded the pre-orders for Black Ops at this time last year.

During the first half of 2011, Activision Blizzard purchased approximately 43 million shares of its common stock, for an aggregate price of approximately $479 million, under the stock repurchase program authorized in February 2011. As of June 30, 2011, Vivendi held 63% interest (non diluted) in Activision Blizzard.

– Q2 Net Revenues Up Year Over Year; Record EPS Increases Over 66% Year Over Year –
– For Six-Month Period Net Revenues Up; Record EPS Increases Over 50% Year Over Year –
– For Six-Month Period Net Revenues from Digital Channels Grow More Than 20% Year Over Year –
– Company Increases Full Year Outlook for Net Revenues and EPS –

In the quarter, the company delivered record GAAP net revenues of $1.1 billion, as compared with $967 million for the second quarter of 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, the company’s net revenues were $699 million, as compared with $683 million for the second quarter of 2010. For the second quarter, the company delivered record GAAP net revenues from digital channels, representing a 27% increase year over year, and accounting for 37% of the company’s total net revenues. On a non-GAAP basis, record net revenues from digital channels increased 13% year over year, accounting for more than 60% of the quarter’s total net revenues.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2011, Activision Blizzard’s GAAP net revenues increased to $1.4 billion, as compared with $1.3 billion for the first quarter of 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, the company’s net revenues were $755 million, as compared with $714 million for the first quarter of 2010. For the first quarter, GAAP net revenues from digital channels increased 30% year over year, accounting for 30% of the company’s total net revenues. On a non-GAAP basis, net revenues from digital channels also increased 30% year over year, accounting for more than 50% of total net revenues.

Activision has launched “First Strike”, the first DLC map pack for “Call of Duty: Black Ops”, on Xbox Live today. The DLC contains four new multiplayer maps (Berlin Wall, Stadium, Kowloon, and Discovery) and a new Zombie level called Ascension for 1,200 Microsoft Points.

First Strike is a timed exclusive for Xbox Live, although there are no details yet as to when it will hit the other Black Ops platforms.

“I just left a security meeting with the coders here at Infinity Ward where we discussed a lot of solutions. I feel good about the meeting, but of course I can’t go into detail on the possible solutions we discussed as we don’t want to give out any information that could potentially hinder the security any further… The key factor I want you to know is, that while any update takes time, we are looking to make the process as quick as possible and nothing is being left unattended.” – Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling

This statement certainly seems a lot more positive than IW’s initial reaction. Hopefully they will be able to come up with something fairly quickly.